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Angels Select Scott Schebler, Designate Jon Jay

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The Angels announced that they have selected outfielder Scott Schebler and designated fellow outfielder Jon Jay for assignment. The team also recalled infielder Luis Rengifo.

Schebler had a decent run as a member of the Reds from 2016-18, a 1,243-plate appearance span in which he offered roughly league-average production with a .248/.323/.457 line (102 wRC+) and 56 home runs. His best effort as a power hitter came during a 30-HR showing in 2017, though both his pop at the plate and his playing time have tailed off since then. As a Red and Brave from 2019-20, Schebler only amassed 95 plate appearances, 94 of which came in the first of those seasons. He batted a woeful .123/.253/.222 with two HRs that year.

Thanks to his recent struggles, Schebler had to settle for a minor league contract with the Angels over the winter. For now, he’ll replace Jay as a sub for the Angels’ starting alignment of Mike Trout, Jared Walsh and Justin Upton.

Jay was also a minor league pickup for the Angels, but the 36-year-old couldn’t take advantage of his MLB opportunity early this season. He went 1-for-8 with a single and two strikeouts before the Angels designated him.

Angels Make Handful Of Roster Moves

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The Angels have selected outfielder Jon Jay from their alternate site and placed outfielder Dexter Fowler on the 60-day injured list, the team announced. In other moves, the Angels placed catcher Max Stassi (left thumb sprain) and outfielder Juan Lagares (calf) on the 10-day IL, and they recalled backstop Anthony Bemboom.

The 36-year-old, whom the Angels signed to a minor league contract before the season, has put together a respectable career going back to his Cardinals debut in 2010. However, his numbers plummeted from 2018-20 with the Royals, Diamondbacks and White Sox. He hit a miserable .160/.211/.240 in 57 trips to the plate with Arizona last year, though Jay will get a chance to rebound beginning tonight with Fowler out for the season and both Lagares and Justin Upton (back stiffness) dealing with injuries.

Stassi has typically been known for his defensive acumen, but he has come alive at the plate since 2020. Including a red-hot start this season, Stassi has slashed .292/.371/.538 with eight home runs – albeit over a small sample of 124 PA and 38 games. Bemboom and Kurt Suzuki will handle the catching duties while Stassi is out.

Angels Place Anthony Rendon On 10-Day IL

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The Angels have placed star third baseman Anthony Rendon on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Rendon suffered the injury Saturday, and the Angels are hopeful he won’t miss more time than 10 days, according to manager Joe Maddon.

Rendon, a former National whom LA signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract before 2020, has been a smash success in an Angels uniform. He was one of the most valuable players in baseball last season, when he batted .286/.418/.497 (154 wRC+) with nine home runs in 232 plate appearances and tied for fifth in the majors in fWAR (2.7). Rendon hasn’t been that hot at the start of this season, but he has slashed a more-than-respectable .290/.378/.387 with a homer in 37 trips to the plate.

Along with placing Rendon on the IL, the Angels called up infielder Jack Mayfield, selected right-hander Ben Rowen and optioned righty Jaime Barria. Mayfield and Jose Rojas will help fill in for Rendon during his absence, while Rowen could see his first major league action since he was a member of the Brewers in 2016. The Angels signed the longtime farmhand to a minor league contract in the offseason.

Dexter Fowler To Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

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11:41AM: Fowler isn’t considering retirement, telling Jack Harris of the L.A. Times and other reporters that “I’m telling everybody, ’Comeback season has commenced.’ “

10:44AM: Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler suffered a torn left ACL, the team announced.  Fowler will undergo surgery that will keep him out of action for the next 6-9 months, thus prematurely ending his 2021 season.

Fowler suffered the injury in Friday’s game with the Blue Jays, as he made an awkward step onto second base to beat out a throw from Bo Bichette on a forceout attempt.  Fowler was in obvious pain and had to be carted off the field, and though the Angels’ initial diagnosis when placing him on the 10-day injured list yesterday was only a sprained knee, further tests revealed the true severity of the injury.

The devastating news could end Fowler’s tenure with the Angels after only seven games.  Since Fowler just turned 35 years old, it isn’t out of the question that the injury could spell the end of his impressive 14-year career, though it is too soon to speculate given that the surgery has yet to even take place.

The Angels acquired Fowler in a trade with the Cardinals last February that was essentially a salary dump on the Cards’ part.  For the price of a player to be named later, Los Angeles is paying only $1.75MM of the $16.5MM owed to Fowler (counting salary and signing bonus installments) in the final year of his original five-year, $82.5MM free agent contract with St. Louis.  The Halos’ plan was to start Fowler as the everyday right fielder, at least until star prospects Jo Adell or Brandon Marsh received big league promotions later in the season.

With Fowler sidelined, however, manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that the team will use a platoon of Jose Rojas and Juan Lagares in right field, with Jared Walsh also seeing some time in right.  Besides Adell and Marsh, the Angels also have veterans Jon Jay and Scott Schebler in the organization on minor league contracts, and 2015 first-rounder Taylor Ward could also be a candidate for playing time.  Looking at the ripple effect over the rest of the roster, Walsh playing right field could open up more time for Albert Pujols at first base.

The Angels are the fifth team Fowler has suited up for at the big league level, as part of a career that includes an All-Star appearance in 2016 and a World Series ring that same season with the Cubs.  He signed his big free agent deal with St. Louis in the aftermath of that big 2016 campaign, though Fowler never quite got on track during his four years with the Cardinals.  Injuries limited to Fowler to 389 games and an even 1500 PA, as he hit .233/.334/.408 and generated roughly league-average production (98 OPS+, 100 wRC+) and only 3.0 total fWAR.

Anthony Rendon Day-To-Day With Groin Injury

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Anthony Rendon is dealing with a sore left groin, Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Maddon doesn’t expect Rendon to play in tomorrow evening’s game against the Royals, and it isn’t out of the question the star third baseman could require a stint on the injured list. The always-productive Rendon is off to a strong start to the 2021 season, with nine hits (including a home run) and five walks over his first 37 plate appearances.

Angels Place Dexter Fowler On Injured List, Call Up Jaime Barria

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Dexter Fowler is heading to the injured list with a sprained knee. The Angels will call up Jaime Barria to take his roster spot, per the Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya (via Twitter).

Fowler hasn’t had a stellar first week in Los Angeles, slashing .250/.286/.250 in 21 plate appearances over his first seven games. Juan Lagares could see time in right while Fowler is on the shelf. Alternatively, Jared Walsh or David Fletcher could move from the infield to the outfield. Either way, the Angels are going with just a three-man bench for the time being. Manager Joe Maddon will have to make his moves carefull, as the Angels’ 11 position players include Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols, neither of whom are expected in the field (except when Ohtani is pitching, of course).

Barria, 24, can serve as a long-man, which might be especially useful while Ohtani recovers from a blister. Barria has been a regular part of the Angels’ roster for the past three seasons, making 44 starts and eight appearances out of the bullpen. In total, he owns a 4.46 ERA/5.02 FIP across 244 1/3 innings with just a 35.7 percent groundball rate, 19.3 percent strikeout rate, and 8.0 percent walk rate. None of those rate metrics come across as particularly promising, but he’s managed to net 1.5 fWAR regardless.

Dexter Fowler Suffers Left Knee Contusion

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  • Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler departed their game Friday with a left knee contusion, per the team. Fowler left on a cart after stepping awkwardly on second base, though manager Joe Maddon indicated afterward that he dodged a serious injury. Fowler has been the Angels’ primary choice in right field this year, and if he does need to sit out for an extended period of time, they have Jared Walsh, Juan Lagares and Jose Rojas on hand as potential subs on their MLB roster.
  • The Tigers scratched righty Julio Teheran from his start Friday because of tightness in his triceps. The team replaced Teheran with lefty Derek Holland, who surrendered three earned runs in 2 2/3 frames in a loss to Cleveland. It’s unclear whether Teheran will miss any more time. The Tigers signed Teheran to a non-guaranteed deal in the wake of a terrible 2020 with the Angels, and after earning a roster spot with Detroit during the spring, he debuted with a five-inning, one-run performance in a win over Cleveland last Saturday.

Shohei Ohtani's Scheduled Start Pushed Back

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Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani won’t make his previously scheduled start this Sunday because of a blister, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.  It’s an issue that has troubled Ohtani since the end of March, but the two-way standout was able to make his first start against the year on April 4, and he has been a regular in the Angels’ lineup at designated hitter. Manager Joe Maddon said Friday (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that Ohtani can throw with a Band-Aid on, but he’ll need to do so without it before returning to the Angels’ rotation. Ohtani tossed 4 2/3 innings of three-run (one earned) ball with seven strikeouts, five walks and two hits allowed in his season debut on the mound. His production on offense has been tremendous, as Ohtani entered Friday with a line of .280/.333/.600 (154 wRC+) with two home runs and a pair of stolen bases in 27 plate appearances. He smashed a three-run double in his second at-bat against Toronto on Friday and then followed with a solo shot in his next AB.

Luke Bard To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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  • Angels right-handed reliever Luke Bard will undergo season-ending hip surgery, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to report. He’ll need six to eight months to recover from the procedure. Bard was already set to miss a significant amount of time this season, as the Angels sent him to the 60-day injured list shortly before the campaign began. Although the 30-year-old’s high spin rate has made him a potential breakout candidate since he debuted with the Angels in 2018, he has only managed a 5.05 ERA through 66 innings – including 5 1/3 frames in 2020.

Pirates Acquire Kyle Keller, Designate Edgar Santana

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The Pirates have acquired right-hander Kyle Keller from the Angels in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced.  To create roster space, the Pirates noted that right-hander Edgar Santana has been designated for assignment.

Keller hit the DFA wire himself earlier this week, and the 27-year-old now finds himself traded for the second time in 15 months, after joining the Angels in a swap with the Marlins in January 2020.  Keller has appeared in each of the last two seasons, with a 4.15 ERA over 13 MLB innings with Miami and Los Angeles, striking out 12 batters but also walking ten.

Working almost exclusively as a reliever throughout his pro career, Keller has a 3.53 ERA and 31.8% strikeout rate over 249 2/3 career innings in Miami’s farm system.  Control wasn’t nearly as much of a problem in the minors (8.9% walk rate) was it was at the big league level for Keller, and the Pirates are hoping he can provide some bullpen depth for a pitching staff that has lost both some starting and relief candidates to injury in the early going.

Santana is no stranger to injuries, having undergone Tommy John surgery in September 2018.  The rehab process cost Santana all of the 2019 season, and he then missed all of 2020 due to an 80-game PED suspension.  As per the terms of the suspension, Santana still had to sit out the first 20 games of this season before being eligible to return to the field.

Before his career was put on pause, Santana delivered solid results in his first two MLB seasons.  The right-hander posted a 3.31 ERA/3.77 SIERA over 84 1/3 innings out of Pittsburgh’s bullpen in 2017-18, with an impressive 6.8% walk rate but a below-average 21% strikeout rate.

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